Fence.



Patented Aug. I3, 190|.A

.| s. MARTIN.

F E N C E.

(Application Bled Nov. 6, 1900.

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

Js' bnn, l

Patented Aug. I3, |90|-.

.|. s. M'Anrm.

FENCE.

. (Application med Nov. 6, 1900.)

(No Modal.)

@L aan nnen; oo. morauruc., mswmaron. o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN S. MARTIN, OF BAUGHMAN TOVNSHIP, OHIO.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,342, dated August13, 1901. Application filed November 6, 1900. Serial No. 35,641. (Nomodeld To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN S. MARTIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residingin Baughman township, in the county of Wayne and State ofOhio, have invented a new and .useful Fence,ofwhich the following isaspecification.

The invention relates to improvements in fences.

The objects of the present invention are to improve the construction offences, more especially the construction of wooden fenceposts, and toenable a preservative to be applied to the same to increase thedurability of a fence, and to provide a simple and inexpensive deviceadapted to protect a wooden fence-post at the surface of the groundwhere the greatest strength is required and capable of preventing a postfrom being forced upward out of the ground by the freezing thereof.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a fenceconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view showing the preferred form of fence-post. Fig. 3 is asimilar view showing another form of fence-post. is a horizontalsectional view. Fig. 5 is a detail View of the staple. Figs. 6 and 7 arevertical sectional viewsof fence-posts, illustrating modifications ofthe invention. Fig. 8 is a detail view illustrating a modification .ofthe sleeves or sections.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

l designates a wooden fence-post provided on its exterior with verticalribs 2,consisting, preferably, of cleats secured to the lower portion ofthe fence-post and adapted to space a sleeve 3 therefrom to provideintervening airspaces between the sleeve and the post.y The sleeve,which may be constructed of any suitable material, is loosely mounted onthe lower portion of the post and is designed to extend downward from lapoint a few inches above the ground downward into the ground, below thefreezing-point thereof, so that the ground borings.

Fig. r

in freezing and expanding Will operate to move the sleeve upward on thepost and not change the position of the post itself. The distance thesleeve extends into the ground is about a foot; but it may be increasedin vlength in localities where the freezing of the ground extends belowthis distance. The sleeve, should it be forced upward by the ground infreezing, may be readily pushed back into position, and besidesoperating to lprevent the position of the post from being changed by thefreezing of the ground it also serves to prevent the soil at the surfaceof the ground from coming in contact with the post, whereby the latteris prevented from lrapid decay and its durability greatly increased.Also the air is permitted to enter Ythe intervening spaces between thesleeve and the fence-post, and moisture entering such spaces will soakinto the ground at the bottom of the sleeve.

The fence-post l is provided with a longitudinal opening 4, taperingtoward the top of the post and preferably formed by successive The lowerend of the bore is closed by a plug 5 to form a-receptacle for apreservative, which may consist of coal-oil and water or any othersuitable substance. The upper end of the bore is preferably left open,so that any water entering the bore will descend to the bottom thereofand pass below the oil, which floats on the surface of the water. Thewater is employed for the reason that it may be prevented from leakingout of the bottom of the post more readily than the oil, which isdifficult to retain in the post if used alone. Furthermore, by arrangingthe oil over the water the leakage, if at all, will be of water and notof oil. The upper end of the bore may be closed, if desired, to preventmoisture from entering the post.

In Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings is illustrated the preferred formof the invention, and the post (i is provided with an upper bore 7 and alower bore 8, an intermediate solid portion 9 being interposed betweenthe bores and located at the surface of the ground to avoid weakeningthe post at this point, where the greatest strength is required. Theupper bore, which is preferably about half an inch in diameter, extendsdownward from the top of the post to within a short distance from IOOthe surface of the ground and is designed 'to contain a suitablepreservative, such as coaloil, and the upper end of the bore is closedby a cap 10. The preservative is introduced into the upper longitudinalbore through au inclined transverse bore, l0, extending downward andoutward from a point near the top of the bore 7 and being preferably ofgreater diameter than the said bore 7 to facilitate the introduction ofthe preservative.

The lower bore 8, which is preferably about two inches in diameter,extends upward from the bottom of the post and terminates short of theupper longitudinal bore to leave the iutermediate solid portion 9, Thelower end'of the lower bore may be closed by a plug 11, and when closed.the bore is filled with a suitable preservative, preferably consistingof coal-tar and coal-oil, which is introduced through inclinedperforations or bores 12, extending upward and outward and preferablyarranged radially. These transverse bores or perforations permit thepreservative to be readily introduced into the lower bore; but

they are also adapted when the lower end of the lower bore is left opento permit water to flow through the lower portion of the post and soakinto the ground at the bottom thereoffor draining the space between thesleeve 13 and the post. The sleeve 13 is loosely arranged on 'the lowerportion of the post and is spaced therefrom by ribs 14am] is adapted tooperate similar to the sleeves heretofore described. Theribs which spacethe sleeves from the post are preferably located at the corners of thepost, as illustrated in Fig. etof the accompanying drawings, as thetransverse perforations or passages are preferably arrangeddiametricallyof the post at points where a minimum amount of boring isrequired. The soil is prevented from coming in contact with the solidintermediate portion of the post, and the durability of the latter isgreatly increased by the arrangement of the upper and lower bores andthe said solid or intermediate portion 9. The tapering bore of the post1 provides a large space at the lower end of the post for the receptionof the preservative and reduces the size of the opening at the surfaceof the ground to increase the strength or lessen the weakening effect atthis point. The posts are designed to be arranged' as illustrated inFig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and the endpost 16 is designed tobe provided with an attachment-bar 17, forming an evener and centrallyconnected with the post by a block. The attachment-bar is adapted toyield to the strain on the horizontal fence-wires 18 to avoid changingthe position of the post 16, which might otherwise be drawn out ofplumb. The horizontal wires 18 are secured to intermediate posts bystaples 19, composed of two legs and a connecting portion, which iscoiled to form an eye 2O for the horizontal wires or runners'. Thesewires or runners 18 are strung through the eyes 20, and should a staplebe withdrawn from a post it cannot become accidentally separated fromthe fence-wire and lost. The wire-stretchers 21 are designed to bereversely arranged, so that each alternate one is located in theopposite direction from the next one to tighten the wire, whereby `thestrain on the' fencepost is equalized to avoid twisting the same. Thefence-post may be arranged at any desired intervals, and thewire-stretchers may be located at any point. The corner-post preferablyconsists of a spindle or shaft 22 and a series of spools 23, having thewires coiled around them and adapted to turn to facilitate stretching.the Wires. The shaft or spindle is mounted in a suitable post, which isembedded in the ground. The fence-wires are supported by a series ofbracing-wires 24, composed of a series of approximately V- shaped bendsand arranged to permit the horizontalwires to be depressed vor iiexedwithout bending the bracing-wires, whereby the horizontal wires areadapted to spring back into position automatically after the pressurehas been removed.

In Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings is illustrated a modification ofthe invention, in which the post 25 is arranged within a socket 26,constructed of burnt clay or malleable iron or any other suitablematerial. The

socket, which is preferably rectangular in horizontal section, conformsto the configuration of the lower portion of the post, extends downwardfrom the surface of the ground to the desired depth, and in order toprevent it from being lifted out of the ground by the freezing of thelatter a vertically-movable sleeve 27 is provided. The sleeve 27, whichis rectangular, is loosely mounted on the socket and extends above thesurface of the ground. When the ground freezes, the sleeve will movevertically and the post will remain solidly in position.

In Fig. 7 of the drawings is illustrated another modication in which aseries of rectangular sleeves or sections is employed, and these sleevesor sections are adapted to be moved vertically by the freezing of theground and are capable of dropping downward or backward when the groundthaws. The lowermost or outer sleeve 28 is arranged at the bottom, andthe adjacent sleeve 29 extends above the sleeve 28 and is provided witha pair of supporting-hooks 30, adapted to receive and hold a sleeve 31in an elevated position to prevent the said sleeve 31 from telescopingtoo far into the sleeve 29. The sleeve 31 is also provided with hooks 32to support the innermost sleeve 33, which extends above the sleeve 31and which receives the post. The hooks consist of substantially U-shapedlbody portions having outwardly extending arms arranged in grooves ofthe upper edges of the sleeves or sections. The arms 34 of the hooks areof substantially the same length as the thickness of the sleeve orsections to which they are applied; but instead of providing hooks thesleeves may be provided IOO IOS

IIO

- comingin contact with the soil at the surface thereof. It will also beapparent that the sleeve prevents the post from being forced out of theground by the freezing thereof and that the sleeve may be readily pushedback into position.

What I claim isl. The combination of a wooden fence-post provided withupper and lower longitudinal bores andhaving an'intermediate solidp0rtion and provided with transverse perforations located beneath thesurface of the ground and communicating with the lower longitudinalbore, vertical ribs arranged at the lower portion of the post andoffsetfrom the said perforations, and a sleeve loosely supported by theribs and adapted to shield the transverse perforations, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination of a wooden post provided with a longitudinal boreand having transverse perforations communicating with the bore andlocated below the surface of the ground, said post being rectangular incross-section and provided at the surface of the ground with a solidportion, thevertical strips secured to the post at the corners thereofand offset from the transverse perforations, and a sleeve supported bythe ribs and forming a shield for the perfor-ations, substantially asdescribed.

3. A wooden fence-post provided with upper and lower longitudinal boresadapted to contain a preservative, said post being provided between thebores with-an intermediate solid portion designed to be located at thesurface of the ground, substantially as described.

4:.' The combination of a wooden fence-post provided at its bottom witha longitudinal bore and having a transverse perforation communicatingwith the bore at the upper portion thereof, said post being provided atthe surface of the ground with a solid portion, a removable plug fittingin the bore, and a sleeve surrounding the post at the lower portionthereof and spaced vfrom the same at thev transverse perforation andforming a shield for the latter, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a wooden fence-post' having a solid portion at thesurface of the ground and provided at its bottom with a longitudinalbore and having an inclined per foration or passage at the upper portionof the bore, said inclined passage extending downward and inward, and asleeve surroundL ing the post and spaced therefrom at the transverse orinclined perforation or passage and forming a shield for the latter,substantiaily as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own l have hereto affixedmy Signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN S. MARTIN.

Witnesses E. G. WILLIsoN, R. L. OBERLIN.

